Customer Reviews

Alan Moore's Songbook

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This isn't really a songbook since there are no musical notations. What it is is a collection of song lyrics from Moore's music (he actually heads an obscure band in England I've never had the fortune or misfortune to hear) accompanied by illustrations that I believe are all collected from issues of the now defunct Negative Burn anthology series. As poetry, its fine (not great) and covers all of Moore's usual territory (e.g. one or two about Victorian serial killers).

The accompanying illustrations range widely in quality. Some artists (e.g. Art Adams) are fine drawing comics, but aren't the greatest as black and white text illustrators. Others are just plain mediocre. One of the most interesting contributions is by Neil Gaiman (didn't know he could draw that well until I saw this book) that is, not surprisingly, abstract.

Basically, if you are not familiar with any of the above names, this is not likely for you. But if you are a fan, this is an interesting little collectible curiosity. Not great, but obscure and fun to shove in the face of other Alan Moore collectors in order to watch them turn green with envy.

When you're Alan Moore, a comic writer of such talent and reknown that you can (or could) rub elbows with Eisner or Kirby or Schwartz, you're likely to get tired of the same old thing in your funny books.

Moore uses the comic format to lend a graphic element to the chilling verses contained in these pages. From happier, more upbeat lyrics, to the darker and more disturbing, the combination of perfectly chosen graphics and songs solicited from all over the landscape makes this something no Moore fan; and, for that matter, no fan of dark literature, should be without.